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The Icrontic Gun Thread

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Awesomesauce GH. I'd thought about switching to a composite stock for my M59/66 since my wood stock is still tacky from all the cosmoline, but I'm going to try and refinish what I've got first with the traditional boiled linseed oil/bees wax/turpentine paste.

As for the P22, you've gotta get one! Two of my friends have them (one standard and one with the target barrel) and they're a blast. For the money, I don't think a better .22 pistol exists.

Oh, and you may wanna hold off on the P22 and get your C&R stuff first . The selection of good K31s is shrinking quickly and the prices have almost doubled since I got mine. Last I heard, there aren't any more export shipments of them coming from Europe. Makarov prices are going up a good bit too as the last mil-spec ones are coming in.

For stripping the cosmoline, you might try stripping the stock off the weapon and soaking it down with some gasoline (wearing rubber gloves of course) in an open area. That might strip the rest of the cosmoline out of the stock.

When I stripped the gun, I wrapped the stock in aluminum foil and "cooked" it so most of the cosmo wept out of the wood. All that's left is really just residue which should clean up with gasoline or mineral spirits. If that doesn't do it, I'll hit it with some acetone Although harsh cleaners like that will typically dry out the wood, the BLO/wax/turp mix should restore the moisture as well as give a nice, classic finish. Here's hoping. It's never easy when you're dealing with cosmoline.

I would recommend acetone over gasoline. Gasoline will leave a slight residue. Acetone won't. (Acetone is also perfect for cleaning heatsinks and computer chips. No, it does not interact with motherboard PCB.)

If the stock's wood is too dry after using the solvents, linseed oil makes an excellent conditioner. Apply it in very light coats, allowing the wood to 'dry' in between each application.

Does the stock have any dents in it? If so, you can remove them with an electric iron. Moisten a cloth - just moist, but not soaking wet, place it over the affected area and let set just long enough for the moisture to seep into the wood's pores, then apply heat. As the water turns into gas, it will lift the dented wood fiber back to it's original shape.

Don't use too much water and don't use too much heat. It's better to lift off the iron early and try again rather than to overdo it.

"There's any number of methods, but the old time stockmaker and furniture maker method is the safest for the wood and most effective.

You'll need a good solvent, preferably non-inflammable. The best is Triclorathane, commonly known as Clorathane.
Also a jar of "whiting", which is Calcium Carbonate. This is a white, flour-like powder.
You can buy whiting from Brownell's and from many local drug stores.

The actual method depends on whether your solvent is inflammable or not.

Mix the solvent up with whiting until you have a pancake batter consistency.

Apply a thick coat of the solvent-whiting to the wood, including the butt area and the inletting.
Depending on how big the stock is you can coat it a section at a time.

IF the solvent is non-inflammable, apply heat with a heat gun, or hold the wood over an ELECTRIC stove burner.

The solvent will soak into the wood and dissolve the grease and oil, and the heat will cause it to "boil" to the surface, where it will be absorbed by the whiting.

Normal methods using solvents, soaps, or other chemicals can bring the grease to the surface, BUT they can't lift it ABOVE the surface.
As soon as the solvent evaporates or the heat is removed, the gunk is re-absorbed into the wood before you can wipe it off, no matter how fast you try.

The whiting actually wicks the oil out of the wood and absorbs it, where it's held. This turns the whiting orange and brown.

Simply wipe the dirty whiting off and re-apply.
Usually 2-3 applications will return even a black grease soaked stock to it's natural color.

If you don't have a non-inflammable solvent, apply the whiting with whatever solvent you do have, then quickly wrap the stock up tightly in a black plastic trash bag, and lay it on a driveway or roof top in direct sunlight on a hot day.

Allow to stand for a few hours, then unwrap, brush off the dirty whiting and re-apply.

This method is much less damaging to the wood than using dishwashers, oven cleaner, or strong liquid cleaners, and unlike them, there's no chemicals or moisture to leech out of the wood later and damage the gun metal."

It would be advantageous to read some of the rest of the post to see the pitfalls of other methods like the lye method or oven cleaner method.

Thanks scott! That's one method I hadn't heard of and it sounds like it's really the best way to do it. I'm a member at surplusrifleforum.com, and most of those guys seem to like steam cleaning or wrapping the stock in kitty litter and baking in a solar oven, but those methods never seemed quite legit to me.

Woo! you think this subject has some controversy down there, come on up to Canada some time!:canflag:

Anyways, I decided earlier this year that I wanted to teach myself to shoot, so I went and got licensed for both non-restricted (shotgun, basic rifle) and restricted (handguns ((4.25" barrel or longer only in Canada, shorter is called 'prohibited')) and certain semi-automatic rifles, like AR-15's). Restricteds are for range use only, no such thing as handgun hunting or M-16 variant gopher gun up here.

Bought myself a CZ75 SP01 Shadow 9mm pistol and 3 Savage rifles - .22 Mark II, .223 thumbhole varmint/target, and 7mm Remington Magnum 110FP. Surprisingly, the big boomer is the best shooter of the bunch so far....but I'm also starting reloading, and still working on load development for the .223.

I have the bug bad and am considering purchasing a revolver and/or a .204 rifle for the upcoming gopher season Going to take IPSC training soon, now that I have 5-600 down the pipe of the CZ and find I'm a decent shot. Never gonna be the best shot around but practice does pay off in better results.

That was real informative, scott. I happen to have access almost unlimited supplies of calcium carbonate, since we commonly use this in drilling fluids as a lost circulation preventative measure. If I ever have to strip cosmoline off a weapon I will just take me a 50 lb sack of it home with me.

*sigh* It's been so long since I've been out shooting. I'll have to get some pics of Prag's guns that are hanging out at the house. Only his handguns are around, his rifles are all back at his house in central PA.

Um if you want to build a target rifle I would say don't use that, if its not semi-serious target shooting you should be fine. Check here if you are looking for where to begin, very general starting place.

Well most guns will shoot really well it just takes a new better barrel. Well that upper receiver would work find, just watch out with NDS-22 because flat tops with rear sights don't have as much elevation change possible as single blocks. As well as, if you use scope on that you need to re-zero each time it comes off and have to make sure it doesn't get loose if you leave it on there for a time.

But "competition" is something people like to stick on those small bore rifles. Its just a rifle that can shoot really well, and everyone starts with something basic. There should be a section in the forum or FAQ about what good base bolt rifles would be to start with as a building platform.

As someone posted above, taking a trip to the range is a great way to release stress. I try to go a couple times a week, however in the winter that isn't always possible. I don't hunt, nor do I have any intentions to. However moose and sheep meat taste great. I just punch paper and silouettes for fun.

Sig....thats it, you buy. My fathers carry is a 9mm Sig with a short barrel, and its one of their certified used ones. I am actually looking at buying my own Sig, short barrel, this Christmas in the .357. They have really nice triggers on them from the factory, just enough travel in the them and just a fairly constant pull with little over travel after the hammer falls. Very easy for just a point and shoot out to about 30 yards or so due to the short sight radius, the longer barrels will be easier to shoot with some practice.

Though one of the indoor ranges we go to the owner only rents out Sigs and Glocks period because they don't break....as often as everything else. I know a lot of people that love their Glocks, they are a lot nicer pistol now.

Jared, for a handgun, check out the Glocks and new Springfield XD pistols. Both are nice guns. You've just gotta find something that fits your hand. A 9mm is a great caliber for a pistol. It packs a decent punch unlike a .22, yet is still inexpensive enough for plinking with. If you don't like "plastic" guns, a CZ75 or Browning Hi-Power make a good choice. It's all about what you're comfortable with.

Nice collection Riptide. Looks like you're well set for punching holes in paper. I haven't been to the range in forever, but hope to do it soon. I've got a Yugo 8mm Mauser coming soon that needs broken in, and my friend's dad has some other military surplus guns that we'd like to shoot. I'm considering buying a 1895 Nagant revolver soon. They're $70 and one of the few revolvers ever that can be suppressed.

Buddy J, just bought an AK-47 myself. I pick it up Nov 28th. It's pre-ban, 30rnd clip with 6 position stock 762x39 threaded barrel. It's the Romanian WASR which isn't known for the best quality, but it was new and I got a pretty good deal on it.